9Qs Variant: The Proactive Q1

Here's an optional 9Qs rule that some folks have been playtesting for me. Their early feedback has pretty much confirmed how I felt about it - for a campaign, it's a necessity to have available!

The standard 9Qs Question 1 begins with the heroes as reactionary agents to events brought on by a looming hostility. However, a player may prefer the heroes to be more proactive at the start of an adventure, especially when in the midst of a campaign-style series of 9Qs. This has been all-too true for me as I've played with the 9Qs for so many months, now, and I will definitely be incorporating it into an updated 9Qs document.

To achieve a more intrepid opening, replace the standard Q1 with the following (which I'm currently calling Q1x):

1x. What actions consistent with the heroic motivation do the heroes take that bring them into conflict with a looming hostility inherent within the setting?

Be the player first: Choose and declare an act of defiance, infiltration, pursuit, and/or combat that will probably bring the heroes into conflict with one of the known threats that already exists within the setting.

Be the GM next: Use the random idea generator to inspire threat selection and an encounter that responds with appropriate defensive measures to the heroes' declared act.

Be the player once more: Use the heroes' abilities to respond to the threat as per their heroic motivation and the RPG's rules. 

All subsequent Qs remain the same.

When I post Session 2 of "L'amore tra i mostri," you'll see that I've started with this alternate Q1, and it worked very well!